Of all the senses that we have, the one that is most important to me has to be sight.
Approximately 45 million people worldwide live with blindness. This is according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). Of this 45 million, 80% or 36 million are over the age of 50.
Eye diseases such as cataract, glaucoma and age-related macular disorder are on the rise with the world’s ageing population growing as a result of improved life expectancy.
We just celebrated World Sight Day. This is commemorated annually on the second Thursday of October and is championed by VISION 2020, a global initiative supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). Its objectives are:
·Raise public awareness of blindness & vision impairment as major international public health issues.
·Influence governments/Ministers of Health to participate in and designate funds for national blindness prevention programmes.
·Educate target audiences about blindness prevention, about VISION 2020 and its activities, and to generate support for VISION 2020 programme activities.
Source: The Star
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